Overcoming an ancient spiritual ill
Some years ago, a dedicated, active, hardworking, popular priest who ran marathons for the hospice in his spare time, found himself experiencing something he had not anticipated, and did not recognise.  He described those days as a time of “crisis in my ministry…my work was consuming me. I was too busy. Self-care and time off…
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Hope for the future of our priests
The View   I had the privilege of accompanying the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales to the Royal English College in Valladolid in Spain two weeks ago.  It is a beautiful and fascinating place, founded after the Penal Laws and the persecution of Catholics during the 16th-Century made the training of priests in England impossible.…
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Carrying the Cross across our divisions
The View   Easter for me is a time of great mystery. This Easter Week I find myself reflecting on all that we experienced doing those brief three days. Now we celebrate the Resurrection, but, for all of us, as we carry on through life’s journey, the carrying of the cross continues and will continue,…
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Brexit calls for cool heads…and prayer to 
offer hope for future generations
The View   As I sit to write, I am conscious that Brexit in all its manifestations is causing increasing concern across Ireland – north and south. It was all due to come to some sort of fruition on Friday March 29, but now it seems that fruition may occur on April 12, May 22…
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Vatican must open up justice and resource tribunals
The View   The recent four-day meeting on child protection in Rome raised very high hopes. It was almost inevitable that some of those hopes would be dashed. The Pope had articulated clearly what he wanted to do. The three themes of responsibility, accountability, and transparency were well chosen – they are key for any…
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The darkest of Januaries
The View   I always like to keep my Christmas decorations up until the feast of the Epiphany. The 12 days of Christmas are a very important time, and indeed in many countries gifts are not exchanged until January 6 – recognition of the fact that we commemorate on this day the arrival of the three…
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Hammering away at an already cracking health service
The View   There can be no doubt that Ireland’s health care services are struggling, as are many of those who work for them. Here are a few facts: The Irish Independent reported this week that 500,000 public patients are waiting to see a specialist. “Some 138,584 of these patients spent the whole of 2017…
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Protecting those who would protect our youngest
The View   Ireland has a proud record of environmental protection.  It is good to see the concern which enables the continued protection of pygmy stoats, red squirrels, otters, pine martens, badgers, hares, all bat and deer species, the Natterjack Toad and the Common Newt, almost all resident wild birds, the White-clawed Crayfish, the Freshwater…
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Showing Ireland Jesus’ beating heart
The View   In just a few days Pope Francis will come to Ireland for the World Meeting of the Families. It will be a brief visit and its primary focus will be the family, not the whole Church in Ireland, nor its future nor its past. So what can we realistically expect will happen…
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The real casualties of 
Brexit will be families
The View   The United Kingdom is in a very strange place. The approach to Brexit has been muddled, uninformed and chaotic. It seems that nobody can quite work out what is happening or what should happen. For Ireland there is equal chaos – there is fear that Brexit will result in huge damage to…
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